ArtXchange Gallery presents “Shared Resonance”, a catalog of William Song’s first solo exhibition at ArtXchange Gallery. Song’s multi-layered oil paintings channel energy into physical form that can be collectively shared with audiences. “There is an interaction between light and human experiences,” says the artist, “from simple emotional responses to deep visions of consciousness.” Exploring observation of light as tonal vibrations experienced through color and form, the artist creates works resonating with energy that evoke open states of awareness.

Opening First Thursday, February 5, ArtXchange Gallery presents William Song’s newest body of paintings in the exhibition Shared Resonance. Song’s multi-layered oil paintings channel energy into physical form that can be collectively shared with audiences. “There is an interaction between light and human experiences,” says the artist, “from simple emotional responses to deep visions of consciousness.” Exploring observation of light as tonal vibrations experienced through color and form, the artist creates works resonating with energy that evoke open states of awareness.

Opening Reception: First Thursday, February 5, 5-8pmReception: First Thursday, March 5, 5-8pm

“There is an interaction between light and human experiences, from simple emotional responses to deep visions of consciousness.

Light is in constant flux. The power of a painting is its capacity to allow us to enter the stillness within that motion –
to enter the cohesive unity of the present moment.”

- William Song, 2015

William Song’s work has been exhibited multiple times at ArtXchange Gallery, at Seattle City Hall, and in public locations including Harborview Medical Center and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Shared Resonance is the first solo presentation of his work at ArtXchange Gallery. He has been deeply influenced by year-long stays in Italy, Japan and New Mexico, and travels to India.

Monday, November 24, 2014 | by Tavis Hamilton

- See more at: http://cityartsonline.com/articles/creative-development#sthash.qFyIDyRz.dpuf

In an innovative pairing of art and architecture, Seattle firm SkB Architects has hired artist Jonathan Wakuda Fischer as their first-ever resident muralist. Their partnership challenges the boundaries between public and private art, architecture and urban development.

SkB is best known for designing the new, under-construction KEXP building at Seattle Center and is currently working on several developments around South Lake Union. In his role with the studio, Fischer will provide customized, on-site artwork on a project basis.

“Whether it’s interior or exterior, think of all the [empty walls] out there,” says SkB chief creative officer Shannon Gaffney. “They’re all utilitarian. What if you took something like that, but it was beautiful? We keep seeing more opportunities—canvases really—in our projects.”

Fischer confirms that SkB is in no way hedging his creativity. “The size and scale of projects will only increase in challenge and complexity and in the direction I was already heading,” he says.

Born in Wisconsin to a Japanese mother and an American father, Fischer relocated to Seattle in 2005 to pursue a career in graphic design. Unemployed and grasping for prospects, he dared himself into the world of fine arts. Over the last few years he installed murals at the current KEXP studio on Dexter and other large-scale works in the University and International Districts. His studio work is shown at ArtXChange gallery.

Fischer incorporates a wide range of influences from impressionism, modernism and American and Japanese pop culture. He’s fascinated with Japanese Ukiyo-e printing, a rapid-production print style that originated in the 17th century to depict the lifestyles and vices of Japan’s growing middle class. He identifies as a Cascadian artist and his work highlights the cultural cross-pollination that exists here, illustrating a new Northwest that’s no longer defined by Eurocentric pioneers but is maturing into an independent global actor. Ultimately Fischer aims to create a trans-Pacific egalitarian art form.

Gaffney envisions reclaiming neutral space by working with a diverse range of artists. “We’d like to create a brain trust that has more graphic artists and muralists and steel benders; people that can come in and out of our professional lives and be able to give people like Jonathan a bigger voice,” she says.

Currently through SkB Fischer is working on a project with Kilroy Development and is slated to begin projects with Microsoft, Skanska and Olympus Spa.
- See more at: http://cityartsonline.com/articles/creative-development#sthash.qFyIDyRz.dpuf

Opening First Thursday, December 4, 5-8pm at ArtXchange Gallery, “Against the Grain” features three local artists working with wood, concurrent with their inclusion in Bellevue Arts Museum’s biennial exhibition, “Knock on Wood.” Humaira Abid, Elaine Hanowell, and June Sekiguchi present new work and past works never before exhibited in Seattle, showcasing the scope of their development and techniques. Including carved wood, installation, painting, and scroll-cut sculpture, “Against the Grain” provides a deeper glimpse of three unique female sculptors whose work continues to challenge, surprise, and resonate with viewers.

Opening First Thursday, December 4, 5-8pm at ArtXchange Gallery, “Against the Grain” features three local artists working with wood, concurrent with their inclusion in Bellevue Arts Museum’s biennial exhibition, “Knock on Wood.” Humaira Abid, Elaine Hanowell, and June Sekiguchi present new work and past works never before exhibited in Seattle, showcasing the scope of their development and techniques. Including carved wood, installation, painting, and scroll-cut sculpture, “Against the Grain” provides a deeper glimpse of three unique female sculptors whose work continues to challenge, surprise, and resonate with viewers.

Humaira Abid presents work showing the combined development of traditional Pakistani miniature painting with wood sculpture. Minutely detailed sculpture and miniature paintings in gouache incorporate both techniques in increasingly clever ways (showcased in its fullest at Bellevue Arts Museum). Abid explores the personal and the political and challenge viewers’ perceptions of Pakistan and women.

June Sekiguchi’s new work, in her signature scroll-cut wood with painted patinas and finishes, trace the history and development of patterns in various cultures. Sekiguchi has expanded her explorations with increasing scale into installations that create mysterious environments for the viewer. The range of work will include wall-hung sculpture to modular, site-specific installation.

Elaine Hanowell, known for her lighted paper sculpture and sensitive carved-wood studies of animals, exhibits carvings, both sculptural and functional, and a new series of paintings. This multi-faceted artist works in many media, but her deep exploration of the spirit of animals and their relationship to humanity imbues all her work. Hanowell studied wood-carving techniques during several residencies with master craftspeople in Indonesia.

“Against the Grain” runs through January 31, 2015. Join the artists at the opening reception, First Thursday, December 4, 5-8pm. Due to the holiday on the First Thursday in January, the second reception will be held Thursday, January 8, 5-8pm.

]]>http://artxchange.org/june-sekiguchi-pattern-play-catalog/feed/0Australian Aboriginal Art Family Dayhttp://artxchange.org/australian-aboriginal-art-family-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=australian-aboriginal-art-family-day
http://artxchange.org/australian-aboriginal-art-family-day/#commentsSat, 11 Oct 2014 18:36:00 +0000ArtXchange Galleryhttp://artxchange.org/?p=4134ArtXchange Gallery’s current exhibit, Mythscapes: Australian Aboriginal Art, has a wealth of color, pattern, and story for all ages to enjoy.

Saturday, November 8, 12-4pm

Join ArtXchange Gallery at a special gallery event for kids and families. Experience dot-painting activities, Dreaming stories, and viewing the Mythscapes exhibit with kid-friendly walkthroughs by gallery staff. Ages 4 and up, kids of all ages welcome!

Event begins at 12pm – drop-in anytime during the afternoon.

Read-aloud Dreamtime stories happen periodically or enjoy books on your own. Create unique dot-paintings that connect the mythology of Aboriginal art with our local Puget Sound land and animals. Learn more about the Mythscapes exhibit with kid-friendly gallery walk-throughs and Q&A.

Friday, Sept 5, 5-8pm: Reception with walkthrough by Australian curator Ann Snell
(Please note this is the official Pioneer Square re-scheduled date for September’s First Thursday, due to Seahawks game)

ArtXchange Gallery and Ann Snell Gallery (Sydney, Australia) present a diverse collection of paintings by Indigenous Australian painters. Mythscapes brings an exciting range of Aboriginal artists to Seattle, from established masters exhibited in Seattle Art Museum’s Ancestral Modern, to the next generation of emerging Indigenous artists, including the internationally renowned King Sisters

ArtXchange Gallery and Ann Snell Gallery (Sydney, Australia) present a diverse collection of paintings by Indigenous Australian painters. Mythscapes brings an exciting range of Aboriginal artists to Seattle, from established masters exhibited in Seattle Art Museum’s Ancestral Modern, to the next generation of emerging Indigenous artists, including the internationally renowned King Sisters.

Utilizing contemporary mediums, these artists adapt visual languages that have evolved over centuries. The paintings appear abstract, but they are brimming with mythology, landscape and ancestral knowledge. Each painting is a connection to the living history of Aboriginal Australian culture.

Indigenous Australians migrated to the land of Australia 50,000 years ago and continue to keep their ancient traditions alive in the present day, making them the oldest continuing culture in today’s world. The subject matter for much Aboriginal art is drawn from ‘Dreaming,’ a place beyond time and space in which the past, present, and future exist wholly as one. Tradition is passed from generation to generation through this connection, and thus ‘Dreamings’ also refer to an individual’s or group’s set of beliefs and knowledge of their land. In the past, Aboriginal art was primarily made for ceremonial purposes and was kept hidden to all but tribe members. The designs would have been laid down on the skin, bark, or the land. It was not until the early 1970s and 80s that Aboriginal people began to paint these patterns on canvas and other artistic media. In the past 50 years, the Aboriginal Art movement has grown to become recognized around the world for its fusion of the ancient and the new to create fresh, modern works of art.

The Mythscapes collection exhibits a diverse group of established and emerging artists, from small works with the richly textured dots that Aboriginal painting is known for, to monumental paintings of breathtaking complexity. The artists tell stories of their culture from daily life and survival, such as the life cycle of a yam and the gathering of Acacia seeds, to abstracted aerial views of the important features of their tribal lands. Also depicted are epic mythological tales and tribal wisdom. Created exclusively for the Seattle Mythscapes exhibition, the internationally renowned young duo, Tarisse and Sarrita King (daughters of the seminal Aboriginal painter William King), present a series of five new works, including a unique collaborative piece, Our Country, telling a story about the land of their ancestors.

Mythscapes comes to Seattle by a partnership between Australian curator Ann Snell and Seattle’s ArtXchange Gallery. Snell is a founding member of the Indigenous Art Code, a guideline for Australian and international art dealers that ensures fair trade with Indigenous artists and gives collectors the knowledge that their artwork has been obtained through ethical processes. “Ann’s depth of knowledge and support for the artists she represents is true to the spirit of ArtXchange Gallery,” says director Cora Edmonds. “When exhibiting the works of artists from overseas, ArtXchange Gallery aims to reflect the intention of the artist and to tell the story of their art. Ann has given Seattle a valuable connection to some of Australia’s most accomplished Aboriginal artists.”

Aboriginal painting captivates viewers around the world with its strong, rhythmic aesthetics. Much like Aboriginal culture today, history merges with the present and future, and the ancient becomes contemporary.

During July, ArtXchange Gallery and Judy Shintani invite you to participate in a month of Mandala making!

History:
California Bay Area artist Judy Shintani created a Facebook Group for artists to create and share 12 mandalas during the first 12 days of 2014. These mandalas would represent a corresponding month in the order that the mandalas were created. Artists selected words to describe the creations. Over 300 artists from around the country and other parts of the world used a wide range of materials and processes to create some amazing mandalas.

Artists are continuing to create 4 mandalas each month using their original one made back in January as a jumping of place.

Many artists made new online connections with artists in different places and the posted mandalas inspired new ways of making.

“This was meant to be a daily meditation, a bit of art for us to do each day…” – Judy Shintani

Now:
Inspired by this unique online community, ArtXchange Gallery and Judy Shintani decided to create an online experience in association with the Mandala: Contemporary Interpretations of the Ancient Form exhibition.

During July, ArtXchange Gallery and Judy Shintani invite you to participate in a month of Mandala making! We call artists and the creatively inclined to create 4 mandala images along with a word describing them during the month of July, one each week, and share them in the Mandala Facebook group or on your wall with the hashtag #mandala.

If you would like to participate anonymously or are not active on Facebook, you may send images to info@artxchange.org and they will be posted in the group.

There are no rules or boundaries to what you can create – photographs, drawings, assemblages from any materials (including food!) – we simply ask that you use your creative time as a meditation and time to reflect.

You are also invited to give feedback on posted mandalas. Please go a little deeper with your thoughts. How about expressing what feelings that come up when seeing the mandala, your thoughts or memories that it inspires?